Troubleshooting Intermittently can't sideload books to Paperwhite

readerboy7 · 09-27-2017, 09:16 PM

Whenever I transfer a book to my kindle paperwhite (5.6.1.1) by sideloading it (i.e. transferring it to device via USB) my books usually don't show up, not even after 10 or so minutes of waiting. I have ways to get around this and get the books to show up eventually (see below), but it's a frustrating and time-consuming process, and I would like help for the books to show up the first time, or if that's not possible, advice to make the workaround faster.

Notes: Paperwhite 5.6.1.1 is not jailbreaked, and was last factory reset 1 month ago. All books are azw3 format, usually converted from epub by calibre.

Workaround details: wait to see if the books have show up. If not, restart device, using one of [hold power 8 seconds, press restart; hold power a minute; settings --> restart]. Sideload more book(s). Wait a few minutes. If the books haven't show up, restart using one of the other methods. Repeat until books show up, or I've used all methods, in which case, loop back to start.
Advice adapted from troubleshooting advice from Amazon, which claims that one restart+sideload should get all books to show, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

{Edit: I eventually gave up and 'solved' this by factory resetting it, which has gotten rid of the problem for now. }

coplate · 09-27-2017, 11:46 PM

The next time this happens, try this before restarting.

Go to the home screen and do a search. Put in the search box something that won't be in any file, like "zxc123zxc".

If the search box tells you that it is still indexing the new books, then you will know what is happening.

I seem to recall the last time the indexer came up here, that the only real option was to do what you have described, reboot the kindle to re-start the indexer.

readerboy7 · 09-28-2017, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coplate

The next time this happens, try this before restarting.

Go to the home screen and do a search. Put in the search box something that won't be in any file, like "zxc123zxc".

If the search box tells you that it is still indexing the new books, then you will know what is happening.

Nope, that's not the problem. It isn't saying anything about indexing.

BookCat · 10-05-2017, 03:37 PM

Make sure you do the search from the home screen and search in "All Text". I always sideload books (no wifi) and check that indexing is complete before pulling the usb cable from the pc - indexing uses lots of battery power.

readerboy7 · 10-06-2017, 12:58 AM

Yes, I did that. Nothing about indexing anyway.

Also, 2 things to note. One, even when the books did show up, it took maybe a minute, instead of the few seconds it should take.

2, I eventually gave up and resorted to using factory reset, which did solve the problem, along with getting rid of a whole other bunch of stuff. Luckily, this time, I remembered to note which books were in my kindle so I could transfer them back, and I didn't have many bookmarks in the browser, so I only lost my collections.

If someone could figure out a solution that's less drastic, I'd appreciate it in-case this happens again, but the bug has been solved/removed for now... along with everything else, of course.

HarryT · 10-06-2017, 06:42 AM

A factory reset is indeed a drastic solution. Presumably you tried restarting your Kindle first? That will generally fix glitches.

readerboy7 · 10-13-2017, 12:34 AM

Yes, I restarted my kindle. Multiple times. In multiple ways, as stated in the OP. It was the only way for the books to appear at all. And that help the books appear next time, for the next time I tried adding books..

chlorine · 10-13-2017, 05:23 AM

Same issue here. There's a book I just can't get to show up, even after multiple restarts with different methods.

FWIW the book was created by Calibre from fetching a news source.

Sometimes the book appears in the 'not yet indexed' part of search, from where I can actually read it, but it never shows in my library.

The last try gave me the following weird behaviour: if I search for a word that appears in the book, then the book appears in the list from 'Text in books'. I can then access my book and read it from there. That's far from satisfying however.

JSWolf · 10-13-2017, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chlorine

Same issue here. There's a book I just can't get to show up, even after multiple restarts with different methods.

Have you looked at the book in the editor? It sound to me like something is wrong with the book.

<y suggestion is to create this as en ePub and then make sure it validates and convert it to KF8 from there and see what happens.

chlorine · 10-13-2017, 11:59 AM

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm completely cueless about editors though, does calibre provide one?
Calibre created an epub from the site so I'll try to find out how to check if it validates.

BookCat · 10-13-2017, 03:00 PM

Hang on a minute chlorine! You're not supposed to put epubs on kindles!

Try converting the news article into mobi format. Kindles are one of the few readers that don't accept epub.

That could be your problem.

How exactly are you sideloading the books?

Plug your Kindle into your usb port.

Go to "My Computer" and open the kindle drive.

In this you should see a folder called "documents". Open this and slide the book into it.

Close the Kindle window.

Go to your task bar and click the "safely remove hardware" icon.

This process assumes:
You're using Windows, and
You have saved the book to your disc drive, rather than sending it from Calibre.

Well, this is how I do it.
Good luck.

chlorine · 10-13-2017, 04:45 PM

Sorry, I was unclear: the ebook I'm talking about _is_ in azw3 format.
What I meant, in answer to JSWolf's post, was that the original ebook was created by calibre as an epub. Then I converted it to azw3, and transferred it. BTW I tried transferring it manually and through calibre, and none worked.

Sorry for wasting your time BookCat, and thanks for your answer!

knc1 · 10-14-2017, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chlorine

Sorry, I was unclear: the ebook I'm talking about _is_ in azw3 format.
What I meant, in answer to JSWolf's post, was that the original ebook was created by calibre as an epub. Then I converted it to azw3, and transferred it. BTW I tried transferring it manually and through calibre, and none worked.

Sorry for wasting your time BookCat, and thanks for your answer!

Any chance you have disabled the display of filename extensions?

It sounds from that description that the only difference between the two differently formatted copies would be the extension.
And if you can't see the extension, you can't tell if you transferred the correctly formatted copy.

chlorine · 10-14-2017, 11:42 AM

I use linux. I don't know if it's possible to hide the extensions but I certainly did not do it.

Anyway, the fact that I can find the book and read it from the Text in books search shows that the book is somehow understood by my kindle, but not shown in the library for some reason.

knc1 · 10-14-2017, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chlorine

I use linux. I don't know if it's possible to hide the extensions but I certainly did not do it.

Anyway, the fact that I can find the book and read it from the Text in books search shows that the book is somehow understood by my kindle, but not shown in the library for some reason.

Please translate "not shown in the library" -
Kindles do not have a library that I know of.

09-27-2017, 09:16 PM	#1
readerboy7 Enthusiast Posts: 44 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Intermittently can't sideload books to Paperwhite Whenever I transfer a book to my kindle paperwhite (5.6.1.1) by sideloading it (i.e. transferring it to device via USB) my books usually don't show up, not even after 10 or so minutes of waiting. I have ways to get around this and get the books to show up eventually (see below), but it's a frustrating and time-consuming process, and I would like help for the books to show up the first time, or if that's not possible, advice to make the workaround faster. Notes: Paperwhite 5.6.1.1 is not jailbreaked, and was last factory reset 1 month ago. All books are azw3 format, usually converted from epub by calibre. Workaround details: wait to see if the books have show up. If not, restart device, using one of [hold power 8 seconds, press restart; hold power a minute; settings --> restart]. Sideload more book(s). Wait a few minutes. If the books haven't show up, restart using one of the other methods. Repeat until books show up, or I've used all methods, in which case, loop back to start. Advice adapted from troubleshooting advice from Amazon, which claims that one restart+sideload should get all books to show, but that doesn't seem to be the case. {Edit: I eventually gave up and 'solved' this by factory resetting it, which has gotten rid of the problem for now. } Last edited by readerboy7; 10-06-2017 at 01:07 AM.

10-06-2017, 12:58 AM	#5
readerboy7 Enthusiast Posts: 44 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Yes, I did that. Nothing about indexing anyway. Also, 2 things to note. One, even when the books did show up, it took maybe a minute, instead of the few seconds it should take. 2, I eventually gave up and resorted to using factory reset, which did solve the problem, along with getting rid of a whole other bunch of stuff. Luckily, this time, I remembered to note which books were in my kindle so I could transfer them back, and I didn't have many bookmarks in the browser, so I only lost my collections. If someone could figure out a solution that's less drastic, I'd appreciate it in-case this happens again, but the bug has been solved/removed for now... along with everything else, of course. Last edited by readerboy7; 10-06-2017 at 12:59 AM. Reason: changed 'removed' to 'solved/removed'

10-13-2017, 03:00 PM	#11
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	Hang on a minute chlorine! You're not supposed to put epubs on kindles! Try converting the news article into mobi format. Kindles are one of the few readers that don't accept epub. That could be your problem. How exactly are you sideloading the books? Plug your Kindle into your usb port. Go to "My Computer" and open the kindle drive. In this you should see a folder called "documents". Open this and slide the book into it. Close the Kindle window. Go to your task bar and click the "safely remove hardware" icon. This process assumes: You're using Windows, and You have saved the book to your disc drive, rather than sending it from Calibre. Well, this is how I do it. Good luck. Last edited by BookCat; 10-13-2017 at 03:26 PM.

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09-27-2017, 11:46 PM	#2
coplate Guru Posts: 645 Karma: 1888888 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: prs-505, Kindle Keyboard 3g, PW3	The next time this happens, try this before restarting. Go to the home screen and do a search. Put in the search box something that won't be in any file, like "zxc123zxc". If the search box tells you that it is still indexing the new books, then you will know what is happening. I seem to recall the last time the indexer came up here, that the only real option was to do what you have described, reboot the kindle to re-start the indexer.

10-05-2017, 03:37 PM	#4
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	Make sure you do the search from the home screen and search in "All Text". I always sideload books (no wifi) and check that indexing is complete before pulling the usb cable from the pc - indexing uses lots of battery power.

10-06-2017, 06:42 AM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A factory reset is indeed a drastic solution. Presumably you tried restarting your Kindle first? That will generally fix glitches.

10-13-2017, 12:34 AM	#7
readerboy7 Enthusiast Posts: 44 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Yes, I restarted my kindle. Multiple times. In multiple ways, as stated in the OP. It was the only way for the books to appear at all. And that help the books appear next time, for the next time I tried adding books..

10-13-2017, 05:23 AM	#8
chlorine Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle paperwhite 2	Same issue here. There's a book I just can't get to show up, even after multiple restarts with different methods. FWIW the book was created by Calibre from fetching a news source. Sometimes the book appears in the 'not yet indexed' part of search, from where I can actually read it, but it never shows in my library. The last try gave me the following weird behaviour: if I search for a word that appears in the book, then the book appears in the list from 'Text in books'. I can then access my book and read it from there. That's far from satisfying however.

10-13-2017, 11:59 AM	#10
chlorine Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle paperwhite 2	Thanks for the suggestion. I'm completely cueless about editors though, does calibre provide one? Calibre created an epub from the site so I'll try to find out how to check if it validates.

10-13-2017, 04:45 PM	#12
chlorine Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle paperwhite 2	Sorry, I was unclear: the ebook I'm talking about _is_ in azw3 format. What I meant, in answer to JSWolf's post, was that the original ebook was created by calibre as an epub. Then I converted it to azw3, and transferred it. BTW I tried transferring it manually and through calibre, and none worked. Sorry for wasting your time BookCat, and thanks for your answer!

10-14-2017, 11:42 AM	#14
chlorine Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle paperwhite 2	I use linux. I don't know if it's possible to hide the extensions but I certainly did not do it. Anyway, the fact that I can find the book and read it from the Text in books search shows that the book is somehow understood by my kindle, but not shown in the library for some reason.

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